There’s a civil, productive conversation going on in the Sailing Anarchy forums entitled “PNW small boat ORC.” To summarize, it’s a number of owners contemplating making the leap to ORC. In that discussion, one of the forum’s participants brought the following article to everyone’s attention. It’s presented by the folk at Charleston Race Week, and does a great job of explaining the rule and why they’re switching (and clearly its purpose is to support their position). Obviously we have our considerations around here, and no rule is a panacea, but for the more serious racers among us it deserves a clear, close look. – KH
ORC Explained
- Why is Sperry Charleston Race Week making a change from PHRF to ORC?
Race Week has always tried to provide the best possible racing for its participants. For those racing under handicap systems, we feel the ORC system provides the most fair and competitive scoring possible given the diverse boat types that are attracted to this event. The ORC system is the largest measurement-based system in the world, serving thousands of boat types and nearly 10,000 boat owners, and we’re pleased to be one of the first regattas in the U.S. to offer this system that has proven so successful elsewhere. - What is better about ORC than other rating rule choices?
Because ORC’s features are accessible online, and because they’re objective and consistent for all users and scientifically developed, flexible and affordable, we feel this system is the best choice for Race Week competitors. ORC’s features are proven and we feel they fit well with the needs and expectations of our handicap classes. - ORC ratings seem to vary depending on the race course type and the conditions. Why is this, and how will the race committee know what choice to make among the scoring options?
The power of the ORC system to provide fair racing is in its recognition of the differences in performance potential among boats of different designs, with ratings that change according to course type and wind speed. Single rating number approaches simply cannot offer that kind of versatility. So, we’re trading simplicity for fairness.The two basic types of courses are windward-leeward and non-windward-leeward, which are described on ORC certificates as Coastal/Long Distance. ORC Triple Number scoring recognizes wind speeds as either Low (<9 knots), Medium (9-14 knots) or High (15+ knots), which will be signaled by the Race Committee – the Sailing Instructions for the ORC courses will give further details. - Can the scoring be in Time on Time or Time on Distance?
ORC ratings can be either Time on Time or Time on Distance – the Sailing Instructions will specify which will be used for scoring at Race Week. Once the ratings are received for all boats, tables will be provided online to estimate corrected time allowances among competitors for each course type and wind speed. - Does ORC have a favorite boat type or bias towards particular designs?
ORC can model the performance of nearly every style of monohull, from sportboats to superyachts, and by providing a range of ratings there is no tendency to favor a particular boat style or type as may be typical in single-number systems. The ORC Rule has been developed based on its test fleet of some 1,500 designs, most of which are typical production boats seen all over the world, including the U.S. In ORC world championship regattas, podium finishers are typically of both racer and cruiser-racer boat types, with the top teams being those that sailed the best on their racecourse rather than those who had the most “favorable” ratings.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.